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After having the
artichoke bread
on the weekend, I was looking for something a little lighter and a little healthier for lunches during the week. Soups very often fit that bill and I had been thinking of making a lentil soup with winter greens for a while. I have not been doing much with the winter greens lately and I was thinking that some kale would go nicely in a soup or stew. I wanted a little bit of meat in the stew as well and Italian sausage always bring a ton of flavour to soups so they were in. I of course started the soup with the a healthy dose of the basics, diced onions, celery and carrots for even more vegetable goodness. After that it was just a matter of adding the liquid, white wine and chicken stock, and some aromas and flavours in the form of bay leaves, oregano and a splash of balsamic vinegar. (I wanted this to be more of a stew than a soup so I cut back on the amount of liquid that I would have used, but if you want it to be more soup like feel free to add another cup of the chicken stock.) I also happened to have a parmigiano reggiano rind in my freezer so I tossed that into the soup while it was simmering to add even more flavour. This soup is pretty simple to make and it can be done in about an hour.

The lentil stew with Italian sausage and kale turned out really well! It was nice and warm and just full of flavour and healthy vegetables and it really hit the spot on the cold winter days. I had half of a loaf of bread left from the artichoke bread and that was the perfect excuse to slather it up with garlicky butter and toast it with some cheese on top. The
cheesy garlic bread
was perfect for soaking up that lat bit of tasty stew from the bottom of the bowl.

Just found your blog; It's good to see other tiny-kitchened Torontonians making delicious things from less than ideal kitchens. Your food looks excellent! This and the asparagus-gruyere tart have just moved to the top of my need-to-cook-soon list.

Oh Kevin, as usual you are outdoing everyone with your deliciousness. I love lentils and sausage-true comfort food. Maybe I will use the organic black lentils I have to make something like this??!! Gotta go get some good sausage. Cam

I had all of the ingredients in the house and took it as a sign that this recipe needed to be made asap. Wow! It is the best lentil stew I've eaten to date. The cheese rinds gave it a depth of flavor not to be rivaled.

Made this one tonight! I had some elk Italian sausage hanging out in my freezer (I know, weird) and decided this would be a good recipe to use for it! Very simple and extremely delicious. I had a lb of the elk, so I used 2 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 4 cloves of garlic, 4 cups of veg stock, 1 1/2 cups of the lentils, 1 1/2 tbsp of balsamic vin, and a little more than a cup of the white wine and presto! Thanks for sharing all of your recipes! I've really enjoyed your site.

this stew was great but it might benefit from adding a few tablespoons of tomato paste when you add the garlic and red pepper flakes, then saute it for a few minutes before adding the wine for a little more depth of flavor...

Kevin, your adventurous cooking and absolutely gorgeous photography never cease to amaze me. You are my favorite food blogger! I have a bumper crop of Kale (as well as chard & collards) and am looking forward to making several of your dishes in the coming week. Having all the ingredients (except the parm rind) I simmered this today and have eaten 2 bowls for lunch! p.s. my wife and I are planning a trip to Toronto in the coming months, perhaps we can meet for dinner! Keep up the great work, and continue to let your curiousity run wild regarding how unusual pairings of food make such MAGIC in your closet kitchen! Thanks!

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About Me

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.